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Canada’s National Core
Extends from
Quebec in the east
to Windsor in the
Regional Landscapes of the
United States and Canada
QUEBEC
City
west.
More than 50% of
Canada’s people
live here.
Canada’s National Core
Includes 5 of
Canada’s 10
largest cities:
Toronto (#1)
Montreal (#2)
Ottawa (#4)
Hamilton (#9)
Quebec (#10)
Prof. Anthony Grande
©AFG 2013
National Core
WINDSOR
Plus, it includes prime agricultural land.
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Canada’s National Core
• Historically, a contested region with a cultural
divide (English/French).
• Distinctive landscape and toponymy.
• A highly productive agricultural area.
area
• Contains Canada’s chief urban-industrial
area.
• The St. Lawrence Seaway allows oceangoing vessels access to the entire region.
Term used in political geography to refer to
(1) the original area from which a country
subsequently grew and developed; and/or
(2) a region containing a country’s
country s greatest
development, wealth, and densest
populations; and/or
(3) the part of a country where people have
the clearest sense of national identity.
All three apply to Canada’s Core Region.
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Physical Environment
of the Core
Moderate climate,
long growing
season
and
good soils
allowed an
agricultural base
to develop.
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Core Area of
Canada
Called Canada’s “Main
Street” because it
contains over half of
Canada’s
Canada
s population.
population
Ample precipitation
Young, fertile glacial soils
Climate moderated by Great Lakes.
Long frost-free period
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Settlement in the Core
Main Street vis-à-vis Megalopolis
This area was settled early in
the colonial period.
French came from the east.
(Cartier 1535; settlement 1608).
French
English came from the south.
(Late 1700s after French & Indian War
and again after the American Rev).
English encouraged settlement
to counter the existing French
influence. (English Protestants vs.
French Catholics).
LOWER
CANADA
UPPER
CANADA
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Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
A Sports Rivalry?
A Cultural Geography?
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French-speaking Canadians
French-speaking Canadians
have resisted assimilation
from the time of the English
take-over.
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Quebec Sovereignty Movement
French Language as a Mother Tongue
All Canadians - 23%
Quebec – 82%
New Brunswick – 33%
Ontario – 6%
Nova Scotia – 4%
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Quebec Sovereignty Movement
A political action aimed at
the secession of Quebec
and the creation of a new
French-speaking country.
• Negative impact on the economy of Quebec.
Many companies (especially foreign-owned ones)
decided to relocate, because of the proposed
“French language-only” laws.
If successful would divide
Canada into 3 pieces:
Quebec (the new nation), the
Maritime provinces (which would
be isolated from western Canada), and
the rest of Canada.
• Further attempts at secession are currently
unlikely due to devolution and realization of
potentially negative consequences.
Defeated twice.
Rural areas tended to
favor secession. Urban
areas (esp. Montreal)
largely opposed it.
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(Devolution: surrender of power to local authorities by a
central government.)
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Canadian Toponomy
Quebec City
The French cultural
capital of Canada.
 An acropolis site
“Quebec” comes from an Algonquin word/term
kébec, meaning “where the river narrows.”
“Canada” comes from a Wendat (Huron-Iroquoian)
word kanata, meaning
g “village.”
g
that commands the
place where the St.
Lawrence estuary meets
the much narrower river.
In 1535 native people used kanata to direct the
French explorer Jacques Cartier to a village near
the site of present-day Quebec City.
 A chokepoint at
which water travel can
be controlled.
Kanata became Canada, and got applied to the
entire region, and later to the entire country.
Source: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography-boundary/geographical-name/geoname-origins/5875
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Quebec City with La Citadelle
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Battle of Quebec
French and Indian War
To Atlantic
Ocean
City of
Quebec
La Citadelle
overlooks the St.
Lawrence River
and controls river
traffic that has to
slow down to
make the curve.
British troops
scale the heights
at Quebec,
Sept. 13,1759
See maps in
historical atlas.
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French Long-lot System
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The Seigneurial System
Officially known as the
Seigneurial System.
 Large land grants (seigneuries) were awarded by the
king to entrepreneurs (seigneurs), who sub-granted
parcels (rotoures) to peasant colonist-farmers
System of land division
involving long narrow
y the French
lots used by
during colonial times.
(habitants).
 Each rotoure was150-200 yards wide and arranged
perpendicular to the St. Lawrence River and
extended about a mile inland.
 After river frontage was occupied, roads
were extended inland to create a new
rank (rang) of rotoures.
 This was repeated inland as needed.
This system guaranteed
access to property.
No property owner could
be isolated or dependent
on his neighbor.
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Seigneurial System
Seigneurial System
Ile d’Orleans, Quebec
Quebec
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Location of Montreal on the
St. Lawrence River
Site of Montreal
• Located at the head
of navigation of the
St. Lawrence River.
• Located at the junction of a T-shaped
lowland area (where the
QUEBEC CITY
Lake Champlain Lowland
meets the St. Lawrence River
Valley).
MONTREAL
• Land routes radiate
from the site.
OTTAWA
Lake Champlain
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Montreal
Lachine Rapids on the St. Lawrence R.
(between the Island of Montreal and south shore)
Canada’s most important
eastern port city.
The world’s 2nd largest
French-speaking city.
Rapids blocked inland movement
of ships (head of navigation) until the
St. Lawrence Seaway was built.
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St. Lawrence Seaway
St. Lawrence Seaway
It extends from Montreal to Lake Erie (includes the
Welland Canal and the channels that weave through
the Thousand Islands between NYS and Ontario).
Navigational facilities allow ocean-going ships to
reach the western tip of Lake Superior over 2400 mi.
f
from
th
the Atlantic.
Atl ti
A system of locks, canals and channels that
permit ocean-going ships to travel from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
The system was jointly built
by the United States and
Canada between 1950-56.
It is jointly administered and
maintained.
An example of international
cooperation between two
countries along a common
border.
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Great Lakes/Seaway Profile
Thousand Islands Region
with location of locks
between Canada and the United States
Extends from Cornwall, Ont.
and Massena, NY to
Kingston, Ont. and Cape
Vincent, NY.
Consists of over 1000 rocky
outcrops that geologically
link the Canadian Shield to
the Adirondack Mts.
To be classified an island, there must
be a tree or bush on it. Otherwise it is
a shoal.
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Thousand Islands Section
St Lawrence Seaway
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Eisenhower Locks
St. Lawrence Seaway
Massena, NY
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Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
Bisects the Core Region, southern Ontario
The Niagara Escarpment is a cuesta (exposed edge of
resistant rock formation).
Extends from western NYS through southern Ontario and
into Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. It is responsible for many
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waterfalls, the most famous of which is Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls
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Niagara Falls
(a beautiful impediment to shipping)
Niagara
Escarpment
Horseshoe Falls,
Canadian side of
Niagara Falls
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The Welland Canal
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Welland Canal
The Welland Canal
was built to counter
America’s building of
the Erie Canal.
It links Lake Ontario
with Lake Erie.
Niagara Falls
Allows ships to get
around Niagara Falls
by raising and lowering them over the
Niagara Escarpment.
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Canada’s National Core
Ontario Peninsula Agriculture
• Good soils; flat land
• Relatively mild
climate
• Relatively long
growing
i season
• Proximity to large
cities and many
people.
• Well-educated and
fully mechanized
farmers.
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National Core Interior Boundary
Ottawa
• Canada’s capital and 4th
largest city
• Site selected in1857
– Only town of size on the
border between Canada
East and Canada West
(now Quebec and Ontario)
– A geographical compromise between English and
French speaking areas
– Relatively immune to
possible American attack
EAST
French
OTTAWA
(a lesson from the War of 1812)
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Ottawa: Parliament building in winter
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Toronto: LANDSAT Image
Originally noted for its
small protected harbor and
portage to Georgian Bay .
HARBOR
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Canada’s largest city and 5th largest in North America.
Has a better hinterland than Montreal.
Has excellent links to the US Midwest region.
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Hamilton
Toronto
Located in the center of the “Golden
Horseshoe” which extends from
Toronto to the Niagara River.
A sandbar provides it with a natural
protected harbor.
p
It is a center for
heavy industry,
About 25% of all
Canadians live in the
Toronto metro area.
producing c.60%
of Canada’s steel.
It is a world financial center
as well as a diversified
manufacturing city.
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The Niagara Escarpment is to its south.
More than 100 waterfalls have been identified
within its boundaries, so Hamilton is known
as the "City of Waterfalls."
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Windsor and Vicinity
Windsor
Canada’s southernmost city at
western end of the Core. Located on
the Detroit River. Strategic site in colonial
times. Now a major border crossing.
Focus of Canada’s automotive, food
processing and wine making industries.
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